[COM] Adelaide Oval Redevelopment

[[Shuz]]

I say we still got the better deal on a per capita basis -

We got $30m for 1.203m people in Adelaide = $25pp.

Compared to Sydney's $50m for their 4.575m people = $10pp.

We got a very generous deal, two and a half times more funding per person that what Sydney got - so everyone should shush and be happy that we even got Federal funding. Really, the Feds didn't need, nor should have done that.

[ghs]

I say we still got the better deal on a per capita basis -

We got $30m for 1.203m people in Adelaide = $25pp.

Compared to Sydney's $50m for their 4.575m people = $10pp.

We got a very generous deal, two and a half times more funding per person that what Sydney got - so everyone should shush and be happy that we even got Federal funding. Really, the Feds didn't need, nor should have done that.

We also got funding for the upgrade pf the western stand.

[Wayno]

The last cricket match this season at AO is likely to be March 6, after which demolition of the old stands can commence! that's only 6-ish weeks out

and for your viewing pleasure here's a pikkie from day 3 of the Oz/India test match (Jan 26).

DSCF1789_stitch (Medium).jpg (99.08 KiB) Viewed 3458 times

[crawf]

Great photo Wayno

[Hooligan]

I love that photo Wayne (if i may call you that)

[Wayno]

I love that photo Wayne (if i may call you that)

gosh - that's s a bit personal, and in public and all, but yeah why not...

[skyliner]

Great shots of Adelaide skyline given when looking back over the Bradman stand (on TV coverage). 35000 on Aust day!!!

ADELAIDE - TOWARDS A GREATER CITY SKYLINE

[cruel_world00]

And to think it rose from these ashes.


Can't wait for the new stands all around. It will add for a more cohesive looking stadium. And I think it will do very little to ruin any aesthetic the nay sayers keep banging on about.

Bring on AFL 2014.

[vozdra]

Here is a recent photo i took from a recent 20/20 match between the strikers and sixers. It will be nice to see construction finally commence!

[Vee]

Stunning photos! Thanks.

I can't wait to see the full redevelopment and the return of football. Adelaide Oval is already the best looking cricket ground in Australia and can only get better with the planned changes. The grassed mound in front of the heritage listed scoreboard and the Moreton Bay Fig trees add to its uniqueness and appeal.

The vision/vista on the broadcasts from the Ashes and T20 matches has been outstanding and the positive commentary from radio, TV and the twitterverse is great for our state.

[Wayno]

thanks Vozdra, that's an excellent photo.

While at the test match i was chatting with a friend about grandstand naming rights - how will it work in a combined SACA/AFL ground? then this arrived in today's advertiser. Also contains some interasting info about the sequence of construction, and re-levelling the ground.

FAVOURITE son David Hookes may have a grandstand named after him at Adelaide Oval.

At a meeting this week, the South Australian Cricket Association board will discuss the best way to honour the former state cricket captain.

Association president Ian McLachlan told the Sunday Mail: "All of the board says that there's got to be a Hookes memorial somewhere, somehow, some time, whether it's this year or next year.

"But we'd love to have these stands named after our heroes."

The other options are for a bar to be named after Hookes or a statue erected - similar to one of friend and former captain Darren Lehmann, which was unveiled at the ground during the week.

The names Bradman and Chappell - which are on existing stands - are expected to be used when the new oval development is completed. Football stars will also be honoured in the new dual-purpose stadium.

Mr McLachlan said a decision on naming oval features was unlikely to be made immediately.

"I don't think we'll solve it all but we're starting to go through the names," he said.

Lehmann supported the idea of honouring Hookes, who died after being hit by a bouncer outside a Melbourne hotel in 2004.

"He is a good candidate; there are a lot of good players that have represented SA and Australia, and the same with the footballers," he said. "He's a legend of SA sport."

Former wicketkeeper Wayne Phillips said no one held the Oval in higher esteem than Hookes and his memory needed to be preserved there.

The pair shared an unbroken stand of 462 at the Oval against Tasmania in 1987, the second-highest Sheffield Shield partnership (eclipsed only by Steven and Mark Waugh's 464 not out for NSW against WA).

"I think Hookesy would have loved to have a really casual bar named after him," Phillips said.

"Where you'd have an ice cold beer and just take in the cricket. You wonder what it will be, but he's certainly entitled to have something worthy, whether it's a grandstand, bar or a bronzed statue or something else.

"Hookesy had this glorious respect for the place and the people."

Redbacks coach Darren Berry said it would be appropriate for Hookes to be honoured. "The idea that grabs me is the scoreboard - the David Hookes scoreboard - and it's got the bar underneath it, so that gives you two for the price of one."

Meantime, the Stadium Management Authority has finalised a timeline for the redevelopment, which will get under way as soon as the cricket season is finished:

THE Bradman and Clem Hill stands will be the first to go, with a completion date around October, 2013;

THE eastern stand is expected to be completed by the 2014 football season;

NEXT summer's capacity will be restricted to about 22,500, and;

IN EARLY 2013, the playing surface will be relevelled and lowered so that the front seats are on ground level.

The preserved part of the members' western grandstand - the middle part - is likely to again be called the George Giffen Stand.

[Maximus]

The preserved part of the members' western grandstand - the middle part - is likely to again be called the George Giffen Stand.

I'm possibly a bit out of the loop here, but what does this mean? I didn't realise they preserved any of the western grandstand, and haven't they already named it anyway? Or do they mean the western grandstand will be altered as part of the development?

[Wayno]

I'm possibly a bit out of the loop here, but what does this mean? I didn't realise they preserved any of the western grandstand, and haven't they already named it anyway? Or do they mean the western grandstand will be altered as part of the development?

AFAIK the western stand is currently unnamed. The 'Name' usually appears in a prominent position on the front on the stand to ensure it's be highly visible from the rest of the oval.

Much of the old western grandstand was retained, including the arches and some pokey little rooms. I don't believe you can see any of it from the front, so unsure where they will put the name 'George Giffen' - maybe somewhere near the members dining room?

On a related note, commentating for AFL matches in done from the wing, typically on the western side of the oval. Does this mean they need to 'retro-fit' a commentary box in the upper reaches of the western stand? The alternative would be to use the members dining room, but i'm not sure if that's possible (or preferred).

[Waewick]

The preserved part of the members' western grandstand - the middle part - is likely to again be called the George Giffen Stand.

I'm possibly a bit out of the loop here, but what does this mean? I didn't realise they preserved any of the western grandstand, and haven't they already named it anyway? Or do they mean the western grandstand will be altered as part of the development?

they retained the original stand built in the 1880s as well as the arches to the back and the old players "dining room" which you can see via the bay window at the rear of the members stand.

by being forced to retain these parts it costs the SACA an arm and a leg in costs (I'm talking $m's here) which is constantly overlooked when people talk about cost blow outs in the initial western stand re-development.

[dsriggs]

There's media facilities for TV, radio & the press already built into the Western Stand, so there's no need for a retrofit.